I'd heave to think that when riding on the road, whether it's double or single, cyclists can't block traffic unnecessarily by riding in the middle of the road other than for reasons of safety. There might even be some circumstances where it's necessary to ride single if a double line holds up traffic. In your case, I assume that there was some kind of effort by a motorist to ask for the space to pass, such as tooting the car horn. If not, you have a case to argue that there wasn't any apparent need to move over. In fact I think that there might be a very old law requiring one vehicle passing a slow vehicle to signal by tooting their horn.
It's quite possible to block a road lane by riding single two meters or so from the edge of the road and it's quite possible to ride double and leave enough room for cars to pass, as well. If any group of riders don't pay attention to cars being blocked behind them and make an effort to move over accordingly, this kind of ticket will be earned, but you haven't given us the whole story and it's impossible to judge whether the ticket was merited. I wonder if the "considerable fierceness" was a result of the officer's general feelings about cyclists. Certainly riding double wasn't the reason, as you stated. It was failing to pull right when being overtaken. But you're right that the behaviour of groups of cyclists blocking traffic is annoying to motorists and fellow riders who don't want to be inconsiderate. Bob Simpson -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 8:29 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [obc] Riding double I know this topic came up a couple of weeks ago. However, I think it's time we knew what law is being broken when riding double file in Ontario. I was out on Saturday with a group of eight (4x2) (not OBC). Between Highways 16 and 416 on Bankfield Road going west the group was stopped by an OPP officer. The offence was "Failure to turn right when overtaken" (section 148.2 of the HTA, I believe) and only the front outside rider was ticketed. With considerable fierceness it should be added. The ticket was a whopping $110, although of course we have all chipped in. This sort of thing is discouraging me from riding much with the OBC and perhaps some legal effort should be considered, particularly if it occurs on a club run. I hope nothing of this sort happens next weekend. Peter Scott ------------------------------------------------- For list help, please send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ------------------------------------------------- ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
